FEELING DRIVEN
The world’s first self-driving taxi service begins in Singapore,
SINGAPORE— The world’s first selfdriving taxis began picking up passengers Thursday in Singapore.
Select members of the public can hail a free ride in taxis operated by nuTonomy, an autonomous-vehicle software startup. While multiple companies have been testing selfdriving cars on public roads for years, nuTonomy says it’s the first to offer rides to the public.
NuTonomy is starting with six cars, growing to a dozen by year’s end. The ultimate goal, company executives say, is a fully self-driving taxi fleet in Singapore by 2018, to help the congested roads.
For now, the taxis run in only a 6.5-square-kilometre district called “one-north.” Riders must have an invitation from nuTonomy to use the service. The company says dozens have signed up for the launch and it plans to expand that list to thousands within a few months.
The cars — modified Renault Zoe and Mitsubishi i-MiEV electrics — have a driver in front, to take back the wheel, and a researcher in back watching the car’s computers. Each car is fitted with six Lidar sets — a detection system that uses lasers to operate like radar. Two cameras on the dashboard scan for obstacles and changes in traffic lights.
Eventually, riders may start paying for the service, and more pick-up and drop-off points will be added. NuTonomy also is working on testing similar taxi services in other cities, but CEO Karl Iagnemma wouldn’t say when.
Doug Parker, nuTonomy’s chief operating officer, said autonomous taxis could ultimately reduce the number of cars on Singapore’s roads from 900,000 to 300,000. NuTonomy was formed in 2013 by Iagnemma and Emilio Frazzoli, Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers developing autonomous vehicles for the Defence Department.
0Earlier this year, the company was the first to win approval from Singapore’s government to test self-driving cars in one-north.
As a landlocked island, Singapore is seeking creative ways to grow its economy, so it’s been supportive of autonomous-vehicle research.
“We face constraints in land and manpower. We want to take advantage of self-driving technology to overcome such constraints,” said Pang Kin Keong, Singapore’s permanent secretary for transport and the chairman of its committee on autonomous driving.
Olivia Seow, 25, who works in onenorth, took a test ride of less than a kilometre on Monday. She said she was nervous when she got into the car and then surprised as the steering wheel turned by itself. The ride was smooth and controlled, she said, relieved to see the car recognized even small obstacles like birds and motorcycles parked in the distance.
“I couldn’t see them with my human eye, but the car could,” said Seow, who hopes to use the service to help her father as he grows older.
An Associated Press reporter taking a ride Wednesday saw the safety driver step on the brakes once, when a car was obstructing the test car’s lane and another vehicle suddenly began moving in the oncoming lane.
The company hopes its head start will eventually lead to various partnerships.
“What we’re finding is the number of interested parties is really overwhelming,” Iagnemma said.